ATMs are meant to dole out money, not chew it up

Naren Amin got in touch in frustration with Cardtronics over his Cashzone ATM. He says that, over the years, he has made more than 100 calls over faults. Every day he was getting customer complaints. “Whether it is the time taken to process, money being eaten or money not dispensing. We have had aggressive customers demanding money from the till when the machine ate their money.”

On a few occasions he had to call the police over some people being overly determined. On top of this he had to call some 10 times in a week over new £10 notes not dispensing.

He got to the point where he enquired about ending his contract, only to find he had been rolled over. This particularly aggravated as he had been approached by other providers offering higher commission - his store has high footfall.

On an email to the company, he said: “Either release us from our contract or provide a new machine, and a decent service. I would like one of your team to step in our shoes… and deal with the problems and embarrassment your machine has given.”

I contacted Cashzone’s efficient PR firm and got a good response from a Cashzone spokesperson: “After running thorough tests, we can confirm that the machine is now successfully transacting again. Our team will keep a close eye on the ATM to make sure there are no further issues. We’d like to apologise again for the inconvenience that Mr Amin and his customers have experienced.”

Naren is extremely relieved. He says: “The problem was that the actual cassette was faulty, which is why we had so many problems. Touch wood, no jams to date.”

An unscrupulous retailer and his store worker, who between them have been found guilty of multiple serious offences relating to the possession and supply of illicit tobacco, have both been sentenced to jail.